title: Impact of perioperative transesophageal echocardiography on cardiac surgery.
abstract: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is recognized as a semi-invasive technique with increasing impact on diagnostic tools in cardiac surgery. Particularly, TEE plays a role in patients undergoing cardiac valve repair or congenital heart surgery with regard to the assessment of the operative success. Other proven roles of TEE are in evaluating atheromatous disease of the aortic arch, detection of aortic dissection and aneurysm, and diagnosis of pathologic findings within the heart and the pericardial sac. The power of TEE in diagnosis and decision making may lead to an improved clinical outcome which in turn may lead to a reduction in financial efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Operative Intensive Medicine, Westphalian Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Loick
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Scheld
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Aken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D002648:Child; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000601:surgery; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care